Tara, 28, was squirted with a corrosive liquid at
her front door in Romford, leaving her with burns to her face and upper body. Photograph: Metropolitan police/PA

A 15-year-old boy has been charged in connection with an acid attack which may have left a woman scarred for life, after the corrosive liquid was thrown in her face at her front door.

The teenager was arrested on Saturday night, and was questioned at an east London police station. He will appear before Barkingside magistrates court on Monday .

The 28 year old woman, named as Tara – she has asked for her surname to be withheld – answered the door of her home in Romford, east London, on the night of 30 April to a stranger who asked to speak to Michelle. She said there was nobody of that name in the house.

Half an hour later she answered the door again and this time, apparently without speaking or looking up, he squirted acidic liquid over her face and upper body. She managed to close the door and rinse as much as possible with water while her family called an ambulance. Her pet dog, a chihuahua, which was in her arms at the time of the attack, also had to be treated.

Tara is still being treated by a specialist burns unit. Last week she described her attacker as a coward and said it did not bear thinking about what would have happened if one of her children had answered the door.

"I feel devastated and am coming to terms with the fact I might have to bear the scars of this cowardly attack for the rest of my life."

Police had said they were keeping an open mind as to any motive for the attack. Crimestoppers had offered a £3,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the culprit.